The present invention generally relates to an in-floor fitting for carrying electrical equipment in the floors of buildings. More particularly, the present invention relates to spring-activated in-floor fitting that “pops up” out of the floor to receive a cable plug.
In-floor fittings such as poke-thru fittings, afterset fittings, and preset fittings are installed in concrete floors to provide electrical receptacles and communication/data receptacles (or jacks) at desired locations in buildings. Poke-thru fittings are designed to be installed in an opening in a floor, such as a concrete slab or steel deck, in a building structure such as an office building to provide electrical receptacles and/or communication/data receptacles at desired locations in buildings. As explained in U.S. Pat. No. 4,770,643, source power and signal cables, loosely positioned in a plenum, which is between the ceiling of the floor below and the floor above (that is, the floor in which the opening is in), may be pulled from the plenum and connected with or passed through the poke-thru fitting for activation of services for and on the floor above. More specifically, high voltage source power cables are connected with power receptacles that may be mounted within the poke-thru fitting or surface mounted on the floor above the fitting. Lower voltage communication/data signal cables have traditionally been passed through the poke-thru fitting to provide above floor connections between these cables and equipment positioned on the floor above. More recently, poke-thru fittings have been developed that also provide for mounting the communication/data receptacle within the fitting.
Standards promulgated by Underwriters Laboratories (UL) require poke-thru fittings to enable the fire rating of the floor to be substantially the same with or without the floor opening and fitting therein. As a result, poke-thru fittings typically incorporate fire-retarding material, generally intumescent material, to retard the transmission of heat and flame from a fire in the plenum, for example. The intumescent material is activated upon exposure to heat and flames, rising through the floor opening from a fire below the floor. The intumescent material absorbs the heat and expands to fill open spaces in the floor.
Components of many in-floor fittings upwardly protrude above the surface of the floor. Typical “monument-style” fittings include an upper housing that is positioned above the surface of the floor. Even when the fitting is not in use, the upper housing upwardly protrudes from the surface of the floor. Such protrusions may be aesthetically unpleasant and may also pose tripping hazards.
Thus, a need exists for a poke-thru assembly that addresses the problems described above.